Irish Republican News · March 13, 2025

Britain ‘locking up Republicans up and throwing away the key’

One of the longest serving republican internees, who has spent a total of six years held without trial, has been prevented from making a bail application for over three months.

Republican prisoner Shea Reynolds submitted a bail application on December 5, 2024, having spent an unprecedented amount of time on remand in Maghaberry prison without any conviction.

At that time, it was indicated that a judgment on the bail application would be provided within weeks. However, no judgment was delivered.

The application was finally reopened on February 7, 2025. Mounting a bail application defence lawyer Peter Corrigan of Phoenix Law noted that the Lurgan man was the “longest serving remand prisoner” in the Six County jurisdiction.

“His youngest son is four years of age and he has never met him outside of prison. I must emphasise that there is the presumption of innocence.’’

He pointed out that there is still no prospect of a trial in relation to the so-called ‘Operation Arbacia’, an attempted MI5 sting operation directed against a meeting of the Saoradh leadership five years ago, while other charges made against Mr Reynolds date back nine years.

A decision on bail was further delayed, supposedly due to an industrial action taken by barristers.

Meanwhile, Mr Reynolds continues to languish in Maghaberry jail, interned by remand—locked away from his family and friends in what the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association described as a human rights violation.

Last month, another republican prisoner, Ciaran Maguire, was refused bail after spending 4 years interned in Maghaberry.

In a statement, republican prisoners have recently highlighted the ongoing campaign of internment by remand against Irish republicans, condemning what they said was “a British strategy to put Irish Republicans out of sight and out of mind”.

“These injustices cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. Those who administer and support British rule in Ireland must be held accountable for these injustices.”

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